Opelika Jane Doe (Recently Solved!)

Content Warning this case has a child's death, and some people find the reconstruction photos disturbing. 

Thank you for looking at this case! I did this research for "Hands Off My Podcast." You can listen to this episode here: https://handsoffmypodcast.transistor.fm/episodes/mini-episode-28-part-1-opelika-jane-doe

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UPDATE! January 19, 2023 

Opelika receives her name back. Amore Joveah Wiggins.

Amore's parents are Lamar VickerStaff and Sherry Wiggins. Sherry Wiggins had been paying child support to her father, Lamar VickerStaff, and stepmother, Ruth Vickerstaff, who had gained custody in 2009. 

Lamar and Vickerstaff lived in Jacksonville, Fla., and were informed of Amore's death. However, Lamar was uncooperative, and Vickerstaff, married to Lamar since 2006, said she didn't know the daughter or biological mother. 

Amore had never been in school or reported missing. 

Lamar Vickerstaff was charged with murder and Ruth Vickerstaff for failing to report a missing child.

 

If you have any information, please contact the Opelika Police Department Detective Division at (334) 705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at (334) 745-8665. Tips can be submitted through the Opelika Police Mobile App. You may remain anonymous.https://www.wsfa.com/2023/01/18/police-call-opelika-jane-doe-news-conference/

"We know there are people who have information about who this child is," White said. "We've tracked down tips from across the country and now believe that she may (also) have ties to the Orlando, Florida, area. We won't stop until we can give this child her name back."

Opelika's case is open (active) and ruled a probable homicide. A $20,000 reward is available for information leading to her identity and that of those responsible for her death.

January 28, 2012

The remains of Opelika Jane Doe were found in the woods behind a trailer park off Hurst Street in Opelika, in Lee County, Alabama. It was a resident of Brook Haven Trailer Park that had found the skull. Days after this discovery, the investigators from more of her remains about 20-50 feet nearby a creek from her skull. 

2012-2016 (Estimated)

A clay reconstruction was released, and Greater Peace Community Church members in Opelika came forward, recognizing her but not her name or family. 

In 2016 a lead about Opelika from Greater Peace Community Church surfaced. The tip had photos of Opelika taken in 2011 during bible school. 

2021 (Estimated) 

Forensics at NCMEC, with help from forensic anthropologists at Smithsonian Institution, released a sketch in 2021. 

May 2020 (Estimated) 

Police reviewed photos of a Sunday School taken in the summer of 2011. The enhanced images were released with no new information. 

November 23, 2022 

Investigators reveal more information to the public through the press. They said their investigations led them to Virginia and North Carolina, where they believe the little girl had lived. 

Opelika Police Sgt. Alfred White asks anyone in Norfolk and Chesapeake in Virginia and Northampton in North Carolina to look at the photos they released. 

Investigators also believe that she may have ties to Orlando, Florida. 

Sgt. White also spoke with National Center For Missing & Exploited Children with the information. 

(Photos)

https://www.wtvm.com/2022/11/23/police-release-new-information-opelika-jane-doe-found-murdered-2012/#:~:text=OPELIKA%2C%20Ala.,Doe%20found%20dead%20in%202012.

Condition Of The Body And Information About Opelika

Opelika was black between the ages of 4 and 7 and had medium-length black hair styled in cornrows. During the investigation, they discovered that she had been abused and neglected for years. As a result, Opelika had broken bones and fractures that had not been medically treated. Officials had said that Opelika had a scarred left eye that had left her blind. This is likely the result of prior abuse that happened months to a year before her death. It was an apparent injury that anyone could see. 

The remains were a partial skeleton when found. The bones were within 50 feet of the skull, which included a lower jaw, multiple bones, and some hair in a heavily wooded location by a creek but within 50-70 feet of residences. Hands and torso were not recovered. 

It is estimated that she died between 2010 - and 2011, with a focus on the summer and fall of 2011. 

A long-sleeved pink shirt with heart buttons and a ruffled neckline was found near her body. It is unknown if this is her shirt. 

She is undergoing testing by Othram, Inc. 

Opelika has had isotope testing done, and the places she could have been native to are Alabama or bordering states, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, or South Carolina. So investigators suggest that whoever placed her body in Opelika was familiar with the area. 

Investigators received tips that she may have ties to Orlando, Florida. 

Isotope lead tests showed she might have been exposed to high lead levels in a place she had been living during ages 1-3. 

Jhessye Shockley and Angelica "Cassandra" Livingston have been excluded at Opelika.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Lee County Coroner's Office

Agency Contact Person: Bill Harris

Agency Phone Number: 334-737-3630

Agency E-Mail: Unknown

Agency Case Number: 201243390001

Agency Name: Opelika Police Department

Agency Contact Person: Alfred White, Sgt.

Agency Phone Number: 334-705-5200

Agency E-Mail: Unknown

Agency Case Number: 12000847

NCIC Case Number: Unknown

NCMEC Case Number: 1197223

NamUs Case Number: 9834

Sources: 

https://www.wtvm.com/2022/11/23/police-release-new-information-opelika-jane-doe-found-murdered-2012/#:~:text=OPELIKA%2C%20Ala.,Doe%20found%20dead%20in%202012.

https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Opelika_Jane_Doe

https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMU/1197223

https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/9834

https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2021/who-is-opelika-jane-doe